This invention relates to an improved Universally Replaceable, Display Shelf for Refrigerated Food Cases as utilized in present day food markets or the like. The principal type of refrigerated food cases under consideration is the open ended type of case that is designed and manufactured to store and display dairy, deli, meat or produce items or frozen foods. These food items are stored on a plurality of shelfs mounted to the food cases and may be readily removed from the shelves of the food cases by the food market's customers or employees without resorting to opening a food case door to obtain access to a desired food item. These refrigerated food cases are largely used by the supermarket industry. The major suppliers of this type of refrigerated food cases design the cases so that the shelves are not interchangeable so that a replacement shelf must be obtained from the specific manufacturer of the food case. The food market's purchasing department, must know the manufacturer of the food case and the specific model of case and the size of the shelf to be replaced to place an order for the desired shelf or shelves.
In present day supermarkets the refrigerated food cases in many of the markets originate from more than one supplier of refrigerated food cases. In fact, some markets have refrigerated food cases which are no longer being manufactured and sold by the original manufacturer, although the manufacturer may still be in the business. Other markets have such refrigerated food cases that have been refurbished resulting in the identification of the manufacturer and/or model number or the like have been either removed from the food case or covered over rendering it illegible. To further complicate the problem of shelf replacement for these food cases is the fact that the supermarket stores grow in number either due to expansion or new construction and/or acquisition of existing stores or an entire supermarket chain, the need to know the manufacturer and model number or type of each refrigerated food case in each individual market creates a larger and larger problem of inventoring the food cases for shelf replacement. Some of the supermarket food chains extend over a wide geographical area and even in multiple states so that a centrally located purchasing department without specific manufacturing information relating to the food cases or cases that require shelves to be replaced is faced with an enormous problem and usually has no inventory listing of the type of food case, etc. nor the time to take a store by store inventory for this purpose. At the present time, there is no known, replaceable shelf for refrigerated food case that can be used to replace the shelves for all the major manufacturers of these food cases without the need for specific manufacture's data on each food case in order to effectively replace these shelves in an efficient and expedient manner.